Syllabus

Schedule

Course Dates

Each week opens on Wednesday at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (ET). Each week closes on Wednesday at 11:59 PM ET, with the exception of Week 8, which ends on Sunday at 11:59 PM ET. Specific due dates can be found within the Brightspace Calendar feature in your course.

Week 1: May 8 – May 15
Week 2: May 15 – May 22
Week 3: May 22 – May 29
Week 4: May 29 – Jun 5
Week 5: Jun 5 – Jun 12
Week 6: Jun 12 – Jun 19
Week 7: Jun 19 – Jun 26
Week 8: Jun 26 – Jun 30

 

Week 1 – Public Health History, Philosophy, Values, and Functions

Learning Objectives

• Discuss public health history, philosophy, and values 
• Identify the core functions of public health and the 10 Essential Services

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Learning Activities

• Discussion: Introductions

  • Introduce yourself to your instructor and classmates. Please discuss the following: Where are you located in the world? What brought you to this program? What are your public health interests and goals? How do your personal or professional goals and/or beliefs align with the public health mission and values as described in this week’s lectures and readings?

• Assignment: Flavored Tobacco Case Study
  • For this assignment, first read the case study from CityHealth: Ending the Sale of Flavored Tobacco. Then, complete the Week 1 Case Study: Flavored Tobacco template to identify which of the 10 essential services best aligns with aspects of the report. Provide a reasoned justification for your alignment (why does the example demonstrate the essential service(s) you selected?).
• Week 1 Acknowledgement of Academic Engagement Quiz

Professional Development Project

• Professional Development Overview Video & Instructions
• Professional Development Assignment: Tracking Spreadsheet

Week 2 – Methods of Public Health

Learning Objectives

• Identify quantitative and qualitative methods and sciences used in public health fields
• Identify major causes and trends of morbidity and mortality in the United States or other communities
• Explain how evidence can help public health professionals to anticipate, prevent, and mitigate emerging health threats
• Apply peer-reviewed literature to advance public health knowledge

Learning Activities

• Discussion: Morbidity and Mortality

  • Explore the MMWR series of reports at the CDC website and select an MMWR published within the last 3 years that focuses on a disease or condition of interest. You will be using this report or one from your peers to complete your assignments and discussions in Weeks 3, 4, 5, and 6 so choose a topic of interest.  In your initial post, you will summarize and evaluate the report, responding to specific prompts in Brightspace. For your response post, you will select a peer’s post that focuses on a different disease or condition than your initial post. Search peer-reviewed literature to identify an epidemiological study of the disease or condition. The study should relate to your peer’s proposal for how public health professionals will use the information from the MMWR. Summarize and evaluate the study, responding to specific prompts in Brightspace. 

• Week 2 Quiz: Methods of Public Health

Professional Development Project

• Email the professionals you identified last week; a suggested email template is provided in Brightspace. There is no graded submission this week.  

Week 3 – Introduction to Social and Behavioral Health & The Eco-Social Perspective

Learning Objectives

• Apply population-level thinking utilizing the eco-social perspective
• Explain how social, environmental, and economic factors interact with individual behaviors
• Search databases and critically analyze peer-reviewed literature

• •  

Learning Activities

• Discussion: Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health
  • Both your Week 3 Assignment and the Week 3 Discussion ask you to select a health condition or disease, based on the Week 2 MMWR discussion.  This week, you will begin to research the risk factors associated with your chosen disease or condition; this discussion asks you to reflect on the research process and what you have learned so far. 
• Assignment: Annotated Bibliography Template
  • For this assignment, you will select and evaluate scholarly sources, then apply the social-ecological model to identify the risk factors associated with a health condition or disease that you or a peer discussed in Week 2.

Professional Development Project

• Continue working on your Professional Development Project, contacting potential professionals to interview. There is no graded submission this week. 

Week 4 – Policy

Learning Objectives

• Explain how politics and policies shape individual, social, and economic factors associated with public health outcomes
• Explain how political decisions result in improved or declining health outcomes
• Discuss the various agencies and stakeholders that impact public health policy

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Learning Activities

• Discussion: Addressing the U.S. Health Care System

  • Both your Week 4 Assignment and the Week 4 Discussion ask you to continue researching the health condition or disease you selected in Week 2. This week, you will identify policies that impact your chosen health condition or disease. This discussion asks you to share your analysis of ONE policy identified in this week’s Policy Assignment.

• Week 4 Assignment: Policies

  • For this assignment, identify at least 3 policies that directly or indirectly impact the health topic and target population that you researched in Weeks 2 and 3. Using the Policy Assignment Template, summarize the policy, then explain how the policy would impact your chosen health topic and target population. Provide references in AMA format.

Professional Development

• If you have not heard back from any of the professionals you contacted, send a follow-up email. There is no graded submission this week. 

Week 5 – Health Equity and the Determinants of Health

Learning Objectives

• Explain the social, political, and economic determinants of health and how they contribute to population health and health inequities
• Synthesize scientific evidence and scholarly research into professional writing

Learning Activities

• Week 5 Assignment: Social Determinants of Health Essay

  • How do the Social Determinants of Health impact your chosen disease or health condition? This week you will explain the relationship between your chosen health topic (disease or condition) and the social, political, and economic determinants of health. Using the information you gathered in Weeks 2-4, discuss how these factors influence your chosen target population and health condition or disease. This is your opportunity to apply critical thinking skills. Based on what you have learned in this class, as well as your own research, what conclusions can you draw about the impact of the social determinants of health? Your essay should be approximately 500-750 words (2-3 pages) formatted in AMA Style and include a separate Title page and References page, not included in the word count. 

Professional Development

• If you have not been able to contact anyone for your informational interview, reach out to your instructor. There is no graded submission this week.

Week 6 – Program Planning and Evaluation

Learning Objectives

• Explain how public health initiatives and interventions address complex, multi-factorial public health issues
• Identify the role of stakeholders
• Analyze the intention and impact of public health interventions and initiatives
• Draft a logic model that identifies a program’s inputs, activities, outputs, and short and long-term outcomes

Learning Activities

• Discussion 1: Evaluating Interventions
  • In your initial post, you will evaluate an intervention or program created to address your chosen health topic. In your initial post, provide a summary of the intervention/initiative, addressing specific questions provided in the prompt in Brightspace. For your response post, review the intervention posted by one of your peers and provide a constructive critique. In your informed opinion (using your knowledge from the course), do you think this intervention is effective?
• Discussion 2: Logic Models
  • In this discussion, you will read a report that highlights several community-focused approaches for school-based HIV and STI prevention and compare one of the case studies to a prepared Logic Model Example. Then, for your initial post, you will complete a Logic Model Template for one of the other case studies in the report and write a brief reflection on the process. For the response post, provide respectful and constructive feedback on one of your classmate’s logic models. Can you clearly see the connections between the content in the logic model chart and the original case study?

Professional Development

• No graded submission this week. You will be submitting your informational interview notes next week.

Week 7 – Healthcare Systems and Healthcare Access

Learning Objectives

• Compare the organization, structure, and function of health care, public health, and regulatory systems across national and international settings
• Explain how the healthcare system impacts access to healthcare and health outcomes
• Discuss the various stakeholders that shape and are impacted by the US healthcare system
• Discuss the successes and challenges of collaboration between healthcare and public health

Learning Activities

• Discussion: Collaboration between Public Health and Healthcare Professionals

• • This week you examined the U.S. healthcare system and also read a case study on the opportunities and challenges of integrating public health and healthcare. In your initial post, based on what you have learned so far in the course, reflect on the specific opportunities and challenges of integrating public health and healthcare as it relates to a specific health topic. In your response to one peer, can you identify additional strengths or challenges? Explain your thinking.
• Week 7 Assignment: Position Paper
  • Which healthcare model would be the best for the United States? Based on the material we’ve covered throughout this course, as well as outside references from peer-reviewed journals, present an argument for which model of healthcare would be the best system for the United States. You will need to look at peer-reviewed literature to further understand how these models work, as well as the pros and cons of the model. Your position paper should be approximately 500-750 words (2-3 pages) formatted in AMA Style and include a separate Title page and References page, not included in the word count. 

Professional Development

• Informational Interview Notes
  • This week, you will upload your interview notes as a Word document to Brightspace. Notes can be informal; bullet or paragraph format is acceptable. AMA format is not required for this assignment. Include a link to your Google Sheets tracking spreadsheet with your submission.

Week 8 – Public Health Connections

Learning Objectives

• Identify the core functions of public health and the 10 Essential Services and relate them to a public health site in your area
• Communicate audience-appropriate public health content through oral presentation
• Identify the fields of public health as it relates to MPH studies for career planning.
• Initiate planning process for Applied Practice Experience

Learning Activities

•  Discussion 1: Professional Development-Informational Interview Presentation
  • For your initial post, use the data gathered from the informational interview you conducted with a professional in the field, and create a 5-minute presentation of your findings for your colleagues, following the guidelines provided in the prompt. For your response post, view your classmates’ presentations. Then post responses to at least one of your peers in which you discuss what type of practice experience you are interested in pursuing and relate your discussion to an agency and the professional interviewed by one of your peers.  Reflect on the overall experience of conducting an informational interview.
• Discussion 2: Public Health in Popular Media
  • Select a current popular press article (e.g. a website, newspaper, or blog) about a Public Health issue that is impacting a specific community. Summarize the article for your peers, then use the skills and frameworks you’ve learned in this course to provide your thoughts on the public health issue. Consider how public health practitioners could address this issue. Be sure to include a citation for your article! Responses are optional in this final discussion. 

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Visit the Student Support Public Health page

UNE Libraries:

• Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Blackboard/Brightspace.
• Public Health Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/public-health/
• Library Tutorial: Find an article
• Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.

UNE Student Academic Success Center

UNE's Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of free online services to support your academic achievement. Writing support, ESOL support, study strategy and learning style consultations, as well as downloadable resources, are available to all matriculating students. The SASC also offers tutoring for GPH 712 Epidemiology, GPH 716 Biostatistics, GPH 717 Applied Epidemiology, GPH 718 Biostatistics II, and GPH 719 Research Methods. To make an appointment for any of these services, go to une.tutortrac.com. For more information and to view and download writing and studying resources, please visit:

• UNE Student Academic Success Center

Information Technology Services (ITS)

• ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673

Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Policies

AMA Writing Style Statement

The American Medical Association Manual (AMA) of Style, 11th edition is the required writing format for this course. Additional support for academic writing and AMA format is provided throughout the coursework as well as at the UNE Portal for Online Students.

Online resources: AMA Style Guide

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.

Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.

You can learn more about Turnitin in the Turnitin Student quick start guide.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements

Course Evaluation Policy

Course surveys are one of the most important tools that University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.

Late Policy

Students are responsible for submitting work by the date indicated in Brightspace.

Quizzes and Tests: Quizzes and tests must be completed by the due date. They will not be accepted after the due date.

Assignments: Unless otherwise specified, assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.

Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.

Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit https://www.une.edu/studentlife/plagiarism.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
4. Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations.  Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final.  Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.